Heathrow Express Opens Common-Use Airline Checkin Kiosks

Heathrow Express, the non-stop rail service between Heathrow Airport and Paddington station in central London, this week opened the first airport self-service checkin machines in the United Kingdom. Passengers of any airline can use the common-use machines to check in and print a boarding card. Four carriers initially have signed up—Delta Air Lines, Finnair, Iberia and United Airlines—and more are expected to join in the next few weeks.

When Heathrow Express launched in the late 1990s, many airlines opened manned checkin facilities at Paddington, but these closed soon afterwards owing to low usage.

Also in the past month, American Airlines has started selling Heathrow Express tickets onboard its transatlantic flights on a test basis. Meanwhile, Heathrow Express has introduced free onboard Wi-Fi connectivity, even in the six-kilometer tunnel that forms part of the route.

In other airport rail link developments, Amadeus announced earlier this month that it has signed an agreement to start distributing tickets for KLIA Ekspres, the rail link serving Kuala Lumpur's main airport. Only a handful of airport rail links, including Heathrow and Stockholm's Arlanda Express, are available currently via a global distribution system.

Other cities worldwide poised for new airport rail links include Bangkok, which already has opened one on a trial basis, and Seattle, scheduled to start service on Dec. 19. A high-speed rail service connecting Johannesburg's airport to its city center and to the capital, Pretoria, is planned to open in time for the FIFA World Cup in June next year.